Another War Game
by The Infamous Boss Reo
Summary: Set shortly after 'Our War Game', a new threat finds it's way online, and a new child is discovered.


Digimon Adventure

Another War Game

by The Infamous Boss Reo

"You're just about there." Koushiro said, reading out the information that piled onto his computer screen. He glanced at his PINEapple screen, seeing Tentomon as he looked over files and programs within the internet.

"I don't see why I have to do this." the bug digimon sighed, "I wasn't the one who went around trashing up the internet, manipulating and corrupting almost every file and bit of information I could find." Koushiro chuckled and typed at a few keys, bringing up a menu.

"It's a messy job, but somebody has to do it, Tentomon." he said, Tentomon just looked through the screen at Izzy and shook his head, "You could at least get Agumon or Gabumon to come out here and pitch in. THEY'RE the ones who got rid of Diablomon." he pulled out another corrupted file, deleting it, "...damn mess they made." he grumbled.

Koushiro took a drink from his cup of soda, a slurping noise from the straw indicating he was finished. 

"I'm sure that if Tai or Matt were here, they'd have Agumon and Gabumon help out as well." he said, "But Tai's gone on a family vacation, and Matt..." he turned his head to look out the window, "Well...he has some problems right now to work out."

"What kind of problems?" Tentomon asked, deleting another file, "Let's just say it's an old problem he's yet to solve." 

Meanwhile, Matt was dealing with his 'problem'...

"You just can't say it, can you?" Yamato asked, looking over a table at a young boy, about his age. He wore a bandanna that bore the symbol of Japan around his spiky, black-haired head, a white, long-sleeved shirt and black pants, while a red belt was tied around his waist.

"I don't need to say anything I don't have to, Matt." he growled, "That would be true, but you DO have something to say Zack." Matt answered to the teen. Kazuya 'Zack' Kaneda sank in his seat, not facing Matt and looking outside to the busy street.

"You CAN'T say it, huh?" Matt asked, taking a bite out of his burger, "You just sit there, like always, acting like the big man and trying to be tough, not even givi..." 

"You don't think I've been thinking about it since then?!" Zack snapped, slamming his fist down on the table. The people in the restaurant surrounding them all stopped and looked in their direction. Kazuya narrowed his eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL STARING AT?!" he yelled, everyone resumed what it was they were doing.

Yamato shook his head and laughed to himself as Zack sat back down, "What?" Kazuya asked, "You're still full of it, you know that?" Matt threw his empty burger wrapper to the table, rising from his seat and putting on his coat.

"I have to go pick up TK from Dad's." he said, "What? I'm not allowed to see him now?" Zack asked, getting up as well.

"NO." Matt said, facing him, "He may like you, but I sure as hell don't, Zack." Kazuya put his coat on as well, while Matt hurriedly walked out of the restaurant, leaving him behind.

"Hey!" Zack called out, leaving a few dollar bills on their table and chasing after Matt. Yamato pushed open the door of the restaurant, almost bumping into a kid.

"Sorry." he said to the kid, continuing his trek down the sidewalk. The kid looked back at him, narrowing his eyes, "WAIT UP, MATT!" he heard someone yell, running after the blonde-haired bishonen.

The child just shrugged and continued walking, until finally coming to a phone booth. Looking around, the child then pulled out a laptop computer from his coat. He inserted the connection wire into the line outlet on the phone, opening the laptop and typing furiously into it. Soon the screen blipped and faded into static, before regaining picture.

The child's lips curled into a smile, "We're in." he said in an unusually mature voice. 

"How much longer is this gonna take? I've already missed out on lunch!" Tentomon whined, Koushiro rolled his eyes and sighed, "If we don't get this done, who's gonna fix it?" he asked, "I don't know and I don't care." Tentomon said, aggressively deleting another file, "As long as it's not me, I'll be happy." Izzy rubbed his temples and leaned back in his chair, "I give up." he said in a defeated tone, "You could at least let me take some breaks instead of having me shovel around dead information and gigabytes! Am I not allowed to have some sort of rest from time to time??" 

"All right! All right! You can take a break! You don't even have to do this anymore." Izzy said, feeling stressed. Tentomon lowered his head.

"...I'm sorry, Koushiro-han." he said quietly, "I'm just so overwhelmed by all of this work." high above the insect-digimon, an unknown figure loomed overhead, out of view out of either of them.

"One of them is here." he said, "How many?" a staticy voice replied, "Just one. The Crest of Knowledge."

"How did they know we were going to be here?!" the voice said frantically, "I thought you said this was going to be short and simple! No interference!" 

"Calm down, old friend." the figure said in a soothing tone, "This WILL be short." there was a short pause.

"What about the Crest of Knowledge?" the voice finally asked, "Leave him to me." the figure said, narrowing it's eyes and floating silently high above Tentomon.

Shift back to the phone booth, where the mysterious child continued looking at the laptop screen, now wearing a pair of headphones. The child narrowed his eyes.

"Good luck." he said, "This shouldn't be a problem." the figure said from the screen, "After all...we are the most powerful." the child smiled wickedly, "Of course we are." he said, "Now take care of this bug, before he becomes more of a problem."

"I'm already on it." the figure responded.

"You're NOT seeing him, Zack!" Matt growled, "Listen, leave him out of our crap, okay, Yamato?" Zack asked, "He's only nine."

"He's ten." Yamato said, sounding frustrated. Kazuya only blinked, "Really? Wow, he's growing." 

"And when were you at any of his birthdays?" Matt asked, turning to continue walking. He suddenly felt a hand clutch his shoulder, "I did all I could to see him, Matt!" Zack barked, "I try and I try, but I'm sorry if I can't always be there for him!" he removed his hand from the blonde digidestined's shoulder.

"I'm pretty sure you'd want to not even be there in the first place, huh?" Yamato brushed his shoulder a bit, "Zack, there's nothing I would want more than to never see you again…" he then straightened out his coat, "But TK's a different story. He looks up to you as much as he does to me, I don't know why, but he just does."

Kazuya chuckled a bit, making Yamato look at him angrily, "What's so funny?!" he hissed, "Of all the things you've felt for me…" Zack said, "…I never figured you'd ever be JEALOUS of me!" 

"Oh shut up." Matt said, folding his arms, "Let's just get going. I'd hate to have to get used to your ugly face."

"Like I said, jealous…" Zack snickered, "I said shut up!" Matt answered, and the two of them continued down the street.

Meanwhile, Koushiro still typed away at his computer, monitoring as more and more corrupted files were deleted by his digital companion.

"Hey! We're almost finished now!" he said, Tentomon breathed a sigh of relief as he deleted another byte, "Thank god! I was about to go crazy from being in here all weekend!" Izzy noticed a dark blur from the corner of his eye on the computer screen.

"Tentomon, what's that?" he asked, "What's what?" the bug digimon replied, and turned around to see what it was, "I don't see anything." He said, seeing only the vast internet.

"What do you mean you don't see anything?" Koushiro asked, "There's a huge dark blur coming at you from over there!" 

Zooming closer and closer, the unknown being narrowed his blank eyes in delight.

"He's mine." He said, and brought a flat, enlarged hand out, cupping his fingers as a ball of neon-red energy started to build up, "I'll go take care of the other one I passed earlier." A voice answered, followed by an abrupt click.

"Izzy, I'm telling you, there's nothing there!" Tentomon argued, he went back to his work, "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get this all done before…"

"TENTOMON LOOK OUT!!!" Koushiro shouted, the bug digimon turned his head to see a huge, red blast bursting towards him. Giving a surprised yell, he opened his wings and quickly flew to his left, the blast just barely missing him by an inch.

"TENTOMON! TENTOMON ARE YOU THERE?!" Izzy frantically looked about, trying to find his companion. The screen began to disrupt, and suddenly blinked out in front of his eyes.

"TENTOMON!!!" he cried, and threw the junk from off his desk, grabbing the monitor and quickly inspecting the back, "Dear god, turn on!!!" he begged.

"Oh…my head…" Tentomon grumbled to himself, he slowly gathered himself and looked around, searching for the source of the blast.

"What the hell was that from?" he wondered, hovering about. 

"Ah, so you managed to avoid my attack." He heard a sinister voice say, "SUPER SHOCKER!!" Tentomon shouted, his voice echoing as a string of electricity shoot from his antennae, towards the being.

"How pathetic." The being said simply, and held out his large hand. A bright flash followed as electricity smashed against his palm, and smoke formed where the being once was. Tentomon gulped nervously as the smoke blew away, revealing the being, unharmed by the blast.

"I expected much higher of a Digidestined, insect." He said, waving his hand and clearing the smoke. 

"Who… who are you?" Tentomon asked, the being's eyes narrowed, as if he were amused. The rest of his face was blank, save for the marks that ran across it, as well as a shock of jet-black hair, which seemed to appear from behind his face, as if he wore a mask. 

"Those who've met me call me Viromon, insect." He finally said, Tentomon hovered backwards cautiously.

"Whatever your name is…" he said, trying to sound brave, "You made a big mistake trying to take me on. I'm one of the Digidestined!" had Viromon had a mouth, he would have yawned.

"Suffice to say, your dramatics wont save you this time, digimon." He said, "I'm here on business, and you've just made it more enjoyable."

"What are you planning to do?" Tentomon asked, opening his wing coverings again, readying another attack, "What else would I be doing in this network of information?" Viromon asked, "I intend to destroy it!"

"Y…you mean…" Viromon's hand waved behind him, almost as if it were a cape, "This is a kamikaze mission, my dear mon." he narrowed his eyes again, "No! I won't let you!" Tentomon shouted, feeling a bit more brave, "If you do that, you'll destroy the Digital World! And not only that, but who knows what effect you might have on the real world!"

Viromon brought his other, more average-looking hand up and brushed some of his hair back, "Those were our exact plans." Tentomon cocked his head, "'our'?" he asked nervously, Viromon nodded, "My companion is taking care of your friends even as we speak." At that moment, a large screen, showing Koushiro's face blipped on.

"Tentomon!" he said, "I managed to get the monitor working and…" he noticed Viromon, hovering in front of his friend, "Who are you?!" he demanded to know, Viromon turned around, "Such rude behavior." He said, "You must be Izumi."

"I hate riding these things." Zack muttered to himself as he and Matt sat down in their seats, the subway closed its doors and began it's motion down the rails, "It's the fastest way over there." Yamato said, "You'll just have to be patient." Kazuya folded his arms and closed his eyes, sitting up straight. 

"Listen to you, Mr. High-and-mighty." He said, "You act like you enjoy taking these stupid things!"

"Well, at least it's not overcrowded like they usually are." Matt said, trying to lighten the mood. As if on cue, the train stopped, opening it's doors and allowing a huge crowd of people in, cramming into the subway car.

"You had to jinx it, didn't you?" Kazuya glared at Yamato, Matt just laughed lightly and scratched the back of his head, "Well, beggars can't be choosers, right?" 

Within the crowded subway car, two piercing eyes gazed at the two boys from behind them. Slowly, the small boy's frame inched closer behind Yamato, raising his arm, which was covered in a large cloak. 

"Just give it a rest," Matt said, "We've only got a half an hour till we get there!"

"Easy for you to say." Zack grumbled, "I've still got a martial arts lesson later tonight! What's my teacher gonna think when I come in late?! It's bad enough I had to scrub the mats last time I stepped out of line!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't step out of line." Yamato suggested, Kazuya rolled his eyes and folded his arms, "I don't need any mothering from YOU." He said.

The cloaked boy's eye widened slightly as he moved closer to Yamato's back, a small blade appeared from his cloak sleeve, and he inched his arm closer to the Digidestined.

"Just relax already.." Matt said, folding his arms as well, "Jeez, why do you always have to be so sensitive about everything I say?"

"Because, Yamato Ishida , I…" out of the corner of his eye, Zack could see the child behind Matt, holding the blade.

"MATT!" he shouted, and jumped up, grabbing one of the subway handles and lunging a kick forward.

"Wha?!" Yamato turned around just in time to see Kazuya's foot make contact with the cloaked figure, sending him reeling back into some other people in the car.

"Hey! Watch it!" a passenger said, the cloaked figure narrowed it's eyes, bringing the blade in it's hand out again, "Watch out!" Matt yelled, "He's got a knife!" no sooner was that said, than the whole car went into a panic.

"Stop the train!" somebody yelled, "It's a terrorist!" Zack jumped back to his feet, reaching for an emergency stop, causing the train to screech to a violent halt.

"This way!" Matt shouted, grabbing Zack's hand and pulling out of the subway car, along with the rest of the panicked crowd. The cloaked being pushed his way through the rushing mob, grunting in strain as more people started to trample him.

"Who was that?!" Kazuya asked, looking at Matt, "Your guess is as good as mine." He said, "But he's obviously got a problem!"

"I hate children…" the cloaked figure muttered, grabbing a passenger and throwing him out of the car.

"Duck!" Zack yelled, just as the person flew over them, "Ok, this guy's DEFINITELY got a problem!"

"You've got that right.." the being said, appearing at the car's doorway, "And now it's time for all good Digidestined to die!" Matt's eyes widened, "How did you know?!" he shouted, "Somehow, him knowing about you is the least of our problems right now." Zack said, grabbing Matt and running towards the subway exit. The hooded figure stepped out of the car, narrowing his eyes.

"I do love a good chaAAAGHHH!!" his sentence was cut off as the car doors closed on his cloak, pulling him along as the train started again.

"That takes care of THAT problem." Yamato said, he and Kazuya running towards the street. Both of them stopped to take a breather, Matt leaning against a light pole.

"And just what was that all about?" Zack asked, breathing heavily, "Nothing…" Matt said, "It was nothing…"

"Oh don't give me that!" Kazuya snapped, "I know full well about you and your buddies! Why wasn't your monster thingie here to help us?!" Yamato looked at him in shock, "How did you know about Gabumon?!" he asked, "Oh come on, Matt!" Zack exclaimed, "You don't just FORGET having a bunch of monsters attacking you at your apartment, even after a few months! I remember your big dog, and not to mention a big ghost carrying a scythe around!"

"Phantomon!" Matt thought, "Come on, Matt!" Zack said, "Give it up already!"

"Fine, fine.. you're right!" he finally said, "But that was a while ago!"

"So why is this guy just NOW attacking you? He's got to know something, right?" at that moment, the two of them heard a beeping sound. Yamato reached into his pocket, pulling out his digivice.

"See?! I KNEW you were hiding something!" Kazuya exclaimed, pointing out the digivice.

"It's from Izzy!" Matt said, Zack raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"Another friend of mine, he's got a digimon too!"

"Oh, so THAT'S what you call em'? What's he saying?" 

"It's an emergency." Matt looked up at Zack, "We've got to find a computer, and fast!"

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!!!" Kabuterimon shouted, letting loose a ball of electricity aimed at Viromon. The ball flew with incredible speed, rushing at the digimon.

"Is this all you've got?" he asked, holding his larger hand up, "VIRAL BLITZ!" he said, his voice echoing as his fingers emitted streams of energy, joining at the center of his palm and launching from his hand. The two attacks met each other head on, colliding with one another and creating an impressive light show. The display was short-lived however, as Viromon's attack ate through Kabuterimon's Electro Shocker, rushing at the champion digimon.

The large bug let out a cry of pain as the attack rammed into him, sending him twirling as he flew back. 

"To think…" Viromon said, hovering over the fallen digimon, "I was going to expect an actual challenge!" 

"You ain't seen nothing yet!" Kabuterimon said, grabbing Viromon's arm and throwing him off. The evil digimon quickly regained himself, just as Kabuterimon let out another Electo Shocker, smashing into his face and sending him back further.

"Impressive…" was all he could say, "But still rather paltry."

"What?!" Kabuterimon flew towards him, "The try shrugging off THIS!" and he dove at him, crashing into the digimon.

"And what is this supposed to mean?" Viromon asked, Kabuterimon appeared in front of his face, "This…" sparks began to from around the large insect horn, just an inch from Viromon's face. The evil digimon's eyes widened.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!!!!!!!!!" Kabuterimon yelled, and Viromon let out a scream of pain as the attack tore through him, sending him flying.

"You've got him!" Izzy shouted, giving a victory sign as the digimon landed against a digital wall, "I think I'm getting too old for this!" Kabuterimon said, Viromon just lay in the hole he created from the impact against the wall.

"Please don't say I'm going to have to fix THAT too!" the large insect groaned. Smoke rose from Viromon's burnt body, and a finger slowly moved.

"That was a close call." Izzy said, not noticing anything from the fallen digimon, "Who is this guy, anyway?"

"He said his name was Viromon." Kabuterimon said, spreading his wings and taking flight towards the immobile being.

"Be careful." Koushiro warned, "I contacted Matt and told him to send in Gabumon, he should be joining you shortly."

"No sweat, Izzy!" the large bug said, "This guy's going nowhere! He's out cold!" he nudged the motionless digimon with his foot, "Yep. He's definitely left the building." Viromon's suddenly came alive, grabbing hold of Kabuterimon.

"What the?!" the champion insect was lifted high into the air as Viromon rose, sparks emanating from a few opened cuts on his body. 

"Quite the contrary, Kabuterimon…" he said, slamming the digimon against the wall, "The exit doors are opening just for you.."

"Can you get there?" Matt asked, looking at the computer screen where Gennai and Gabumon stood, "From what Izzy said about this guy, he's bad news!" Zack, meanwhile, was carrying two orders of sodas from the bar counter.

"Yeah, that'll be alright." He said, "And gimme a bowl of noodles to go with it!" he returned to the table where he and Matt sat at in the cyber café.

"Brought you a drink." He said, setting the food down, "What's the word from your pocket monster?"

"They're called Digimon, Zack." Yamato corrected, "And Gabumon's on his way right now." Kazuya peered over his shoulder to look at the screen, "Hmm, he sure is a funny looking dog." He pointed out.

"You should see what he looks like when he digivolves." Matt said, "Huh?" Zack blinked. 

"All set and ready to go, Matt!" the digimon said from the computer, "Good! Izzy says Kabuterimon's not getting any better, so hurry up!"

"Roger." Gabumon said, and disappeared from the screen. Matt looked back at Zack, who's eyes were wide in disbelief.

"…Did that thing just talk to you?" he asked, pointing at the screen, "You should meet him." Matt said, "He's actually pretty nice."

Managing to crawl from the subway exit, the cloaked child ran to a nearby phone stall. In it, a man was busy talking to someone.

"So I says to Mable, 'Mable,' I says…" the cloaked child suddenly ripped open the booth's door, "Excuse me…" he said, grabbing the man by the collar, "…mind if I use this?" and with the slightest of ease, tossed the man away. The child seated himself in the booth as many passerby's looked on. Pulling out a laptop computer, the child pulled out a wire, connecting it to an outlet plug in the phone.

"HORN BUSTER!!!" Mega Kabuterimon shouted, flying at Viromon.

"VIRAL BLITZ!" the virus digimon said, sending a blast towards the mammoth insect. Within seconds, Mega Kabuterimon was sent crashing against a wall, smashing through stored data bits.

"Not good, definitely not good…" Izzy said, sweating nervously as he looked on, "Dammit, where are you, Matt?!?!" 

"You're not as tough as I hoped." Viromon said, hovering over the weakened digimon, "Why not give up now, I can make it as painless as possible for you, you know.." 

"METAL WOLF CLAW!!!" shouted Metal Garurumon, slashing at Viromon from behind. The virus' eyes narrowed as he turned around, "At last!" he said, "A REAL challenge!" 

"I'd suggest you back away." Matt's voice was heard saying, and a screen showing his face blipped online. Viromon regained his posture, bringing his larger hand up to his chin, stroking it in amusement, "So, the Crest of Friendship has arrived." He turned back to Metal Garurumon, "Impeccable timing, if I say so myself."

"Why do you want to destroy this place?!" Metal Garurumon snarled, "Tell me now, or so help me…"

"This is getting old, quite fast…" Viromon said, "…must a person ALWAYS have an excuse for wanting to destroy a terminal network, causing the technological world to plummet back to the Dark Ages?"

"I think you're just crazy." Matt said, Viromon turned his head towards him, "Must we all be so judgmental?" he asked, "It goes far beyond any mere thing such as sanity, dear boy." He floated high above Metal Garurumon and the now-Tentomon, "As you progress in age, you'll find that there are SOME things you would rather let die…"

He looked at his enlarged hand, narrowing his eyes, "Imagine living forever, but never being able to feel… never to touch… to live in a world you can see but never truly be part of…" both digimon below looked up at him cautiously, "I still don't buy it." Metal Garurumon growled, "Just because you have a curse, doesn't mean you have to bring it upon everyone else in the world!"

Izzy, meanwhile, was still watching the whole thing.

"There's got to be a way to stop this guy!" he thought, "Wait! The emails from before!" he moved his mouse to his inbox, clicking at the icon.

"Good thing I'm part of a mailing list.." he thought, "…I haven't checked this thing in two weeks! It must be swarming with messages!" quickly, he opened the inbox to find…

"Nothing?!" he gawked at the empty email box, suddenly hearing laughter. Both he and Matt looked back at Viromon, who was laughing as he floated above their digimon.

"Don't you children ever learn?" he asked, "NEVER attempt the same trick twice!" suddenly, both Metal Garurumon and Tentomon felt their energy being depleted from their bodies, rendering them motionless.

"Wh…what's going on?!" Tentomon said, "I can't even move!"

"Me either!" Metal Garurumon grunted, trying to lift his paw. Matt felt his throat choke up as he watched, "How… how did…"

"You DO need to get a better firewall for your computer." Viromon said, floating back down, "You hacked into my computer?!" Koushiro said, "…AND a digital barrier has been set up around us the whole time I've been here." the virus said proudly, "we don't want another incident like what happened to Diablomon, do we?" Izzy jumped from his chair, diving for his phone. 

"I've got to contact the others!" he said to himself, picking up the receiver and dialing frantically.

"I'm afraid that won't work either." he heard Viromon's voice say from the ear-piece.

Yamato slammed his fist down on the table, "This can't be happening!" he shouted, people looked up from their other tables, looking at him.

"Um…uh…" he looked around nervously, "…. MP3s won't download." The onlookers gave an agreeable nod, then resumed their own business. Turning back to face the computer screen, Yamato look beside him.

"Zack?" he looked around, not finding his companion anywhere. 

"What to do, what to do…" Viromon pondered, "I COULD just kill you both now, then resume my utter destruction of the internet…" he floated in front of Metal Garurumon, grabbing his muzzle, "…or maybe I should just finish what I came here to do, killing you both in the process."

"You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" the robotic canine growled, "So far, all I've seen you do is attack us!" Viromon's eyes narrowed again, "Well then, I'd hate to disappoint you, now wouldn't I?" a stream of information floated by the three of them.

"See that?" the virus asked, pointing it out, his smaller hand shot out of his arm like a harpoon, tearing through the stream. 

"TERMINAL MELT!" he shouted, and an extremely large amount of energy flowed through his arm, conducting through the stream. Before their very eyes, the stream began to melt, creating a domino effect as it spread towards the other streams that connected to it.

"I hope you enjoy watching your world die, digimon." He chuckled.

"VIROMON LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!!!" a screen suddenly appeared, revealing the face of the child who had been chasing Matt and Zack, catching Izzy and Yamato off guard as Viromon suddenly twirled around.

"VIRAL BLITZ!" he shouted, sending a blast through Angemon just as he was about to hit him.

"Angemon?… That must mean TK's here!" Matt realized, the angel digimon groaned as smoke rose from his back.

"Remind me to never do that again on you…" he muttered, "I'll take that in mind…" Viromon said, "…If we ever live again to fight." Takeru's face suddenly appeared on his own screen, "Angemon, are you alright?!" he asked frantically, Matt's eyes widened at his sibling's appearance.

"TK! How did you get here?!" he said excitingly, "Are you okay?! What happened?!" 

"I'm okay, Matt." The younger brother answered, he looked back at his digimon, "But what about Angemon?"

"I'm alright…" the angel said weakly, "…though I doubt I can keep my ribs in any longer." Both he and Takeru looked around them, seeing as the stream of information continued to scatter into nothingness.

"What did you do?" he asked, looking up at Viromon.

"We are fulfilling our destiny!" the unknown child from the other screen answered, "Are… are you another Digidestined?" Matt asked, a look of anger came across the child's face, "Viromon and I are nothing like you weaklings!" he hissed, his short brown hair moving over his yellow eyes. 

"They'll destroy the entire internet network if this keeps up." Angemon said, watching the streams as they dissipated, "I can't let that happen!" he quickly got back to his feet, holding his staff.

"I had anticipated this would come.." Viromon said, "I only wish it had come earlier!" all of a sudden, tentacles shot from out of his back, latching themselves into passing gigabytes and programs. The child's lips curled into an evil grin as he and the rest of them watched.

"What the hell?" Metal Garurumon said softly, "What's going on?!" Tentomon cried, "I… I think he's…" Izzy realized, "…digivolving…" TK finished.

Tremendous amounts of information was sapped through the tentacles, surging through Viromon as a clear red cocoon of energy surrounded Viromon's body and he curled into a fetal position, "Now the time has come…" the child said, still smiling. At that point, both Metal Garurumon and Tentomon managed to free themselves, joining Angemon and watching the spectacle.

"This… can't be good." Matt said, "We're definitely not prepared for this!" Koushiro gulped, "Ladies and gentlemen…" the child grinned, "Put your hands together in a praying position and get down on your knees for…"

Two gleaming claws suddenly ripped through the cocoon, connected to two long cybernetic arms, met with a black skin covering. Two rounded shoulders came next, a long spike point ending each one. At last, a grisly cat-like mask appeared as his head tore through, showing a squinting, Asian-like cat design, the entire mask covering his face. The rest of his body was rather thin, slimming more and more from his chest on down, finally ending at his feet, which resembled, in fact, two connectors.

"NEOMON…" his new form's voice boomed.

"We're in trouble." Tentomon squeaked. Neomon looked down at the three digimon, brining one of his mammoth claws up.

"Destiny awaits, children.." his voice said in an echo. 

Meanwhile…

"I'm telling you, the whole thing is whack!" Zack said into his cellular phone, "Something crazy's going on, and you've gotta help them! TK gave me your number and told me to call you! You gotta help! Seriously!"

"Alright, alright. Just take it easy." Kari's voice said from the other line, "I'll get a hold of Tai and we'll be right on it!" 

"Thanks." Zack said, taking a sigh of relief, "By the way, what's your name again?"

"Hikari Kamiya, but everyone just calls me Kari." Her voice was then cut off with an abrupt click, "Kari, huh?" he put the phone back into his coat pocket, "Nice name. Wha?" a strange buzzing could be felt, and he reached back into his pocket, pulling out his phone.

"What the hell is this?" he wondered, looking at the small screen above the phone buttons. On it, a digital picture of what appeared to be an unusual looking egg appeared.

"What is this? Am I getting a call from the Easter Bunny now?"

"Kari said it was down this way!" Gatomon said as she and Agumon flew at great speed through the connection tunnel, "I hope this guy isn't like Diablomon." Agumon said, "Otherwise this is gonna get messy." 

"Don't worry, I've got your back." The feline digimon said, looking back at her reptilian friend, "After all, we've got to stick up for each other, right?" small screens appeared at the top of each tunnel section, showing static at first, "That must be Tai!" Agumon said, the two of them watching, expecting to see him.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy." The cloaked child's face appeared instead, "What the?!" the reptilian digimon's eyes widened, "Who are you?!!" Gatomon hissed, "I'm making sure that you won't interfere with our plans." The child said, and the tunnel suddenly locked in front of them. Both of them grunted in pain as they smacked against the large door, "But don't worry…" the child grinned, "I'm here to make sure you don't get lonely." Small gaps started to appear in midair in the tunnels, suddenly small spider-like creatures appeared, skittering out of the holes.

"What are those?!" Gatomon cried, "These, my furry little friend.." the child said, "..Are digital viruses of my own creation! I'd advise you to not get to close to them, on account of their spit eating through anything in a matter of seconds… but that would just ruin my fun, now wouldn't it?"

"Who IS this guy?!?!" Tai exclaimed, he and Kari watching from their computer, while their mom and dad were in the living room, resting as they got back from their long trip.

"There's no way we can get to the others in time!" Kari looked from over his shoulder, "He's handling this computer stuff even better than Izzy! He must be a pro."

"Kari? Tai? Is something wrong?" their mother called from the other room, Mr. Kamiya rubbing her shoulders, "Uh…No, Mom! Nothing's wrong!" Kari yelled back, "We'll just be in here for a while! Hope you don't mind!" their parents just looked at each other and smiled, getting up and sneaking towards their bedroom, "Oh, that'll be fine, dear!" Mrs. Kamiya yelled, "Go ahead and take your time!" their father added, and the two of them shut the door to their room behind them.

"Agumon! How are you guys holding up?" Tai asked, looking at the screen, "This might take a while, Tai!" Agumon said as Greymon, "We're doing all we can, but there's too many of them!" Angewomon said as well, firing a Celestial Arrow at a group of the small critters.

"Just hang in there…" Tai said, a few tears started to run down Kari's face, "Just hold on… I know we'll make it.." he said, holding his sister close to him as they watched on.

"HAND OF FATE!!" Angemon said, using his attack against the mega-digimon. The beam of light shot from his hand, ramming into Neomon's chest, "ELECTRO SHOCKER!!!" Kabuterimon shouted, sending his attack to join Angemon's. the two blasts merged as one, hitting Neomon straight on, causing him to topple back.

"Did we get im'?" Kabuterimon asked, he and Angemon flying cautiously towards him, "We don't have time to be sure just yet!" Metal Garurumon said, darting past the two of them and diving towards their foe, "We've just got to take him out!"

"I'll should give you credit for such valor then." Neomon said, quickly getting up and swatting the canine out of his way, "Foolish, but still an act of valor nonetheless!" he pointed a claw towards Angemon and Kabuterimon, spreading out his fingers, "DISRUPTOR PULSE!" he said, echoing his voice as a thick, bright blue beam of energy shot from his palm. Angemon dove towards him, readying his staff, "Let's do it, TK!" he said, "Right!" 

A surge of energy flowed through the angelic digimon as his metamorphosis began.

"Angemon digivolve to…"

His new form took place.

"…HolyAngemon."

A shining blade popped out of his right hand, and he poised it in front of him as his wings drew back, allowing him to make a dive-bomb at Neomon.

"I've been waiting for you…" the virus said, extending his claws, getting into a fighting stance.

"You must know something I don't, then." The angel responded, and slashed his blade at his foe. Neomon quickly brought up his defense, catching the blade between his index and middle claws.

"Show me what you're worth.." he said, his face just inches from HolyAngemon's. the holy being quickly drew his blade back, extending his leg as he kicked him in the gut. Neomon hunched forward, but for only a moment before regaining himself and grabbing the angel by his helmet.

The virus brought his head back, suddenly rushing it forward, slamming it against his opponent's skull. A large crack appeared in HolyAngemon's helmet, but the celestial being quickly gathered himself, retracting his blade and brining his arm in with a right hook, smashing his fist against Neomon's mask.

"He's not gonna make it!" TK cried, "Don't worry, little bro.." Matt said, "We're both on it, right?" 

"Right!" Metal Garurumon said, charging at the virus as he and HolyAngemon fought.

"I do so hate interruptions!" he growled, sticking one of his claws out and extending it, closing his grasp around Metal Garurumon and lifting him up, "Do go and make yourself useful." He said, throwing him against Kabuterimon. A connection tunnel suddenly opened behind them, sucking them through.

"It's down to just you and me." Neomon said, glancing back at HolyAngemon, "Now is the time to see if there really IS a god.."

Neomon's child companion, meanwhile, busily typed away at his laptop as he sat in the phone booth, wearing a set of headphones.

"That's it, old friend.." he smiled, "Keep those fools busy, while I continue with our plan.." on his computer screen read; 

'NETWORK OVERRIDE SYSTEM ACCESSED, NOW ACTIVATING NETWORK DELETION' 

HolyAngemon's fist collided with Neomon's cheek, sending blood flying from his face. Neomon struck back as he swiped his claw, tearing across the angel's chest. Suddenly grabbing both of his arms, Neomon lifted himself up, bringing both feet to HolyAngemon's face and launching himself off of him, landing at a distance away from the angel as he slammed against a wall. The crack on his helmet got bigger, and he wiped the blood away from his mouth.

"You are indeed a worthy fighter!" Neomon said, "But I've been delayed for far too long." A digital keyboard suddenly popped up in front of him, and, using one of his claws, typed madly at it.

'ACTIVATING JAPANESE MILITARY DEFENSE PROGRAM, PROTOCOL 5'

'ACTIVATING AMERICAN MILITARY DEFENSE PROGRAM, PROTOCOL 5'

'ACTIVATING RUSSIAN MILITARY DEFENSE PROGRAM, PROTOCOL 5'

"What's he doing?" Matt wondered, watching him. Izzy suddenly felt a lump in his throat as he saw the bright red words flashing onscreen.

'ACTIVATING INDIAN MILITARY DEFENSE PROGRAM, PROTCOL 5'

"What's going on?" TK asked, "This isn't good…" Koushiro gulped, "He's hacking into every nation's military capabilities!"

'ACTIVATING CHINESE MILITARY DEFENSE PROGRAM, PROTOCOL 5'

"Meaning?" HolyAngemon asked, "That in less than thirty minutes, this entire earth shall be a scorched crater." Neomon said, "And once that occurs, nothing shall be left, and my friend and I shall finally rest!"

HolyAngemon gritted his teeth, his gleaming blade once again extending from it's sheathe on his wrist. 

"Not if I can help it!" he shouted, and extended all of his wings as he flew at top speed towards the virus.

"There's too many of them!" Angewomon shouted, letting loose another arrow. War Greymon grunted as he swiped his claws at more of them, "We can't hold them off any longer, Tai! We're both losing energy!" he yelled, "Just hold on, you guys can make it!" Tai said, trying to encourage them. Kari held tightly to her brother's shirt, tears running down her face as she looked on, "They're not gonna make it, Tai!" she cried, Yes they will! I promise you, Kari!" he responded. Suddenly, one of the spiders appeared behind Angewomon, opening its mouth.

"Angewomon! Behind you!" War Greymon shouted, but it was too late as Angewomon turned around, only to be met with a large, glowing green net, covering her body and slamming her against the wall of the tunnel. She let out a scream of pain as electricity ripped through her, reducing her back to Gatomon.

"Gatomon!" War Greymon tore through the hundreds of spiders, trying to get to his comrade.

"Help her, War Greymon!" Kari cried out, "I… I cant get to her!" he said, throwing more spiders off of him, "There's… there's just too many!" 

"NO!"

Tai and Kari watched helplessly as the spiders overcame War Greymon, crawling up his body, as well as Gatomon's.

"I'm sorry Tai… please forgive me…" he said weakly, toppling forward as the spiders covered him completely.

"No… this can't be…." Tears streamed down Tai's face as he looked wide-eyed at the computer screen.

"WAR GREYMON!!!!" Kari wasn't even at the computer with her brother as she sat, holding her hands to her face as she cried.

"HORN BUSTER!!!" came a voice, "ICE WOLF CLAW!!!" shouted another, and the spiders covering War Greymon froze solid, shattering as the reptilian broke through them. The spiders covering Gatomon were blown away as Mega Kabuterimon's attack ran through them, freeing Gatomon from her net.

"Matt! Izzy!" Tai yelled excitingly, Kari looked over at him and ran to the computer, "Are we ever glad to see you guys!" she said enthusiastically, "We figured you could use some help." Matt said as Metal Garurumon fired a barrage of missiles at the spiders.

"Where's TK?" Tai asked, "Is he and Patamon ok?" 

"That would be a big problem." Mega Kabuterimon said as he protected Gatomon from the spiders as they spit at them, using his hard shell back to absorb their acid-like capabilities,

"HolyAngemon is trapped fighting Neomon!" Izzy said, "He locked Metal Garurumon and Mega Kabuterimon out so they could have the whole place to themselves."

"No way this is happening…" Zack thought, staring at the small egg on his phone's screen, "Is this some kind of internet prank or something? Cause if so, you'd think they could come up with something a lot funnier than a stupid-looking egg!" the entire screen started to glow, "Um… maybe this is an online contest or something…" he thought, "….please let it be a contest." Suddenly, a bright beam shot from the screen, ramming into Kazuya and smashing him against the tile walls of the restaurant's bathroom.

"…Definitely not a contest…" he groaned, losing consciousness as a small digiegg materialized in his arms, his phone broken to pieces on the bathroom floor.

"You've got to do better than that! Show me what you're worth, HolyAngemon!" Neomon shouted, holding back against each of his foe's attacks as he continued to slash his blade at him.

"Take him down already!" the unnamed child shouted to the virus, "This is taking too long! His friends will join him soon!" 

"Hey! At least it would be a fair fight!" Takeru yelled, "Go pick your nose, you little brat!" the child hissed at him, "Neomon! The time has come to end it!" 

"No… I'm about to end it myself!" the virus answered, looking up at his comrade's face on the screen, "It doesn't matter anyway, the weapons have already been armed. And once they launch, the whole world including ours won't even be a memory." He suddenly grabbed HolyAngemon's neck, "But then again, this IS getting rather tiresome." He said, and tightened his grip around the angel's neck.

"HolyAngemon! No!" TK cried, "It's too late, kid." The other child said, "There is no hope!"

Takeru watched as small balls of energy gathered around Neomon's claw as he held HolyAngemon, "No! Stop!" the young Digidestined cried out, but it was too late.

"GIGA DEATH!!!"

In an instant, a bright flash was seen, and a gigantic destructive beam of light shot from Neomon's hand. The force sent HolyAngemon back, completely destroying his armor, shattering his helmet and burning his wings. There was an eerie silence as he lay there, deathly still. 

"It was a good fight while it lasted, Crest of Hope." He said, "Hope, indeed…" the child muttered.

"Almost there!" War Greymon said as he and Metal Garurumon and Mega Kabuterimon soared through the tunnel, Gatomon rested on his back, carefully holding on.

"Guys! I just got word that HolyAngemon's been taken out!" Izzy said, "Then… that must mean…." Kari looked at the screen, devoid of emotion, "No it doesn't, Kari!" Gatomon yelled, "There's always hope! There's still hope!!!"

"There's still hope…" TK said, "Not in this or any other lifetime to come, child." Neomon said, glancing up at his screen.

"No… that's where you're wrong." Takeru said, looking back down at him, "In any situation, no matter how big it might seem, no matter how bad it might look…. There's ALWAYS hope!" 

"In less than ten minutes, you, your brother, everyone you've ever known will be dead." The child grinned, "…and you honestly think there's hope?"

"…..Yes."

A bright light suddenly enveloped HolyAngemon, lifting him into the air. Neomon turned around, watching.

"At last…" he breathed, "What?! NO!! THIS CAN'T BE!!!" the child above him shouted, "NEOMON GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!!! HE'LL KILL YOU!!"

"HolyAngemon digivolve to…."

A bright cocoon of his own engulfed the holy digimon, transforming him a level up.

"I mustn't, old friend…" Neomon said simply, not even looking up at the child, "But…" tears started to stream down the child's face, "…This is destiny." Neomon replied, "…as it always will be."

What was once HolyAngemon was no more. Now instead, in his place stood…

"SERAPHIMON."

Takeru just watched in amazement as his digimon stood proudly, covered in holy armor and extending his wings.

"You claim there is no hope for the future." He said, his voice echoing like that of a holy chant, "But there is always hope." 

Six rings of energy surrounded him, and he held up his hand, forming a small bright ball, "Where there is a soul that will never give up, that is where hope shall be, wherever a person knows they can pull through, there shall be hope."

"Come then…" Neomon said, the light of Seraphimon's rings shining down upon him, "Show me this hope.."

"NEOMON! PLEASE COME BACK!" the child cried, the virus merely looked back at him, "Your destiny is in your own hands now, old friend.." he said, "..this is where I must end."

"I'm reading this right now! He's about to launch the missiles!" Izzy said frantically, "We've only got ten seconds before they all launch, and that'll be it!!" 

"We're not gonna make it!!" Tai shouted, "Yes we will!" Matt yelled back.

"Come now, angel…" Neomon said softly, "…shine upon me."

"SEVENTH HEAVEN." 

And with that, the ball of energy in Seraphimon's hand, as well as the six energy rings surrounding him, fired towards Neomon, joining as one as they impacted upon the virus.

The child watched, tears dripping down his face as his companion was deleted from the area. He didn't even notice as the words 'PROTCOL 5 SHUTTING DOWN' flashed across his computer screen.

Smoke cleared from the field of battle where Neomon once stood, now there was nothing.

"We… we did it…" TK said, "Yes, we did." Seraphimon said, looking up at him. Takeru looked down at his digimon, smiling proudly, "We saved the world!"

"Just about……have it…….there!" War Greymon said as he opened the gate to the tunnel. He and the other digimon stepped out, finding only Seraphimon and the two screens, one with TK, the other with the unknown child.

"So much…. So much has been lost…" the child wept, placing his hand on his laptop's screen. A few people stopped to look at him, "Hey kid… you alright?" an adult asked, placing a hand on the child's shoulder. The child suddenly stopped crying, his yellow eyes slitting their pupils.

"I am no child…" he hissed, his hand on the screen suddenly appeared to be sharpening into metallic claws, tearing through the laptop. The man's eyes widened and he brought his hand back, he and the rest of the crowd running away.

"I AM NO CHILD!!!!" the being shouted, grabbing his cloak and tossing it away, revealing his true body.

"I SWEAR THEY WILL PAY FOR THIS!!!!!!" he cried, extending his hands, which were both sets of claws, energy forming around him, "I WILL STOP AT NOTHING UNTIL THEY ARE DEAD!!!" he pointed a claw at the phone booth, his cat-like eyes glowing with fury as he let loose a enourmus blast, tearing through the phone booth and searing through the entire street, obliterating a few buildings. A long cat tail swished behind the being. And his skin appeared to be growing a greenish-blue fur color.

"Take this time to rest, Digidestined…" he said to himself, suddenly floating above the ground, "…You're greatest challenge has yet to come… for I AM the greatest…. And the strongest!"

Through all the commotion and panic, nobody saw the being as he faded into thin air.

"So what happens now?" Kari asked, "Will everything be alright?" 

"Well, the networks will eventually be fixed." Koushiro replied, "But you know what that means.." he glanced at Tentomon, who toppled back, "Not ANOTHER weekend!!" he groaned, "Hey, don't worry! We'll help out!" Agumon said, coming up from behind him, "Yes, even if it means taking up all of our weekends." Gabumon smiled, Patamon rested next to him, still catching his breath.

"Feeling okay?" TK asked, "Yeah…" the winged digimon answered, "…just…. A little….worked out…" Gabumon picked him up and rested him on his back, "I'd say you're the one who deserves a vacation more than anyone." He said, "That was incredible though!" Gatomon exclaimed, "Who would've thought you'd be able to digivolve to mega?"

"Must've depended on the strength of the situation." Tentomon observed, "I guess we all have a little strength in all of us." Yamato shrugged.

"Oh man… my head…" Kazuya grumbled to himself, staggering out of the bathroom. He looked over at Matt, who was sitting at their table still.

"Well here's one time you hadn't walked out on me." he said, seating himself in his chair, "it was you, wasn't it?" Matt asked, "Hey! I thought we agreed not to get into that anymore!" Zack said defensively, "No, not that…" Matt said, placing his hand on Zack's shoulder, "Thanks…" 

"Scuse' me?" Zack asked, raising an eyebrow, "If you hadn't gotten hold of TK and the others, who knows what might've happened." The blonde bishonen said, "Thanks, Zack."

Kazuya blushed a bit, smiling and scratching the back of his head, "Well, you know… I thought I should've helped out with SOMEthing, y'know?" he laughed, Matt glanced at his arm, which was resting behind him.

"Are you hiding something?" he inquired, "What? Me? Nooo!" Zack answered, slipping the small egg in his hand into his backpack. 

"Say, is my mocha still warm?" he asked, taking his drink and sipping it.

THE END


End file.
